One of the most widely used methods for holding lotteries consists in distribution of special numbered tickets bearing an information data set applied thereon, their drawing according to a random rule in a predetermined time, and determining and awarding a pecuniary or valuable prize. This method has many varieties. Thus, for example, Bingo lottery that is one of the most world-popular lotteries is held in a hall in front of a large screen or at homes in front of TV's; participants of this game acquire the digit-bearing lottery tickets beforehand; numbers are drawn using a lototron; a participant who is the first to have filled one of the ticket lines is awarded a premium for the line; after the line has been announced, Bingo prize is drawn, and its winner will be the first participant who announced that all digits on his/her ticket (5 lines) had corresponded to the previously drawn numbers. Similar rules are established for Rousskoye Lotto lottery. However, the known systems (international application WO 97/01145, U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,164, U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,179, application for European patent EP 0 450 520 A, and other) designed to arrange for various games wherein participants use individual electronic memory devices, do not allow their owners to participate in such lotteries. The reason is that all information display means provided in these individual devices do not replace the tickets with respect to said procedure of their filling in the course of a game.
Another drawback of the known systems that use individual memory devices is a complexity of the techniques used therein in terms of synchronisation of time T(i) of recording, in the individual memory devices, of the information relating to i-th event and the time for holding such event. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,931 describes a system, according to which, for ascertaining participation of a player in an event, a relative temporal span is to be measured in an individual memory device proper and in a central server separately for each i-th event. This results in a complication of individual memory devices, a lower accuracy of computations due to, for example, a long deviation of frequency of quartz resonators, used therein, from their rated value. Further, such method of measuring T(i) requires that a data collection center will be provided with a server system for measuring relative temporal spans related to i-th event. In case of the direct computation of T(i), errors of operation of a timer provided in an individual memory device are accommodated only by limitation of the time period for its presentation for obtaining a win. This circumstance significantly reduces the system application field due to the inconvenience of the established maximal period for presenting an individual memory device and due to actually complete exclusion of the possibility to elicit a winner in accordance with the criterion of swiftness of recording the relevant information by him/her.
In respect of the set of essential features, the most pertinent prior art (a prototype) of the claimed invention are a method and system for holding lotteries described in international application WO 97/20275. The distinguishing feature of this invention consists in that in case of necessity the need of a central server and any communication means can be obviated both in time of holding events and in time of obtaining a win. The reason is that for holding an event, it is sufficient to store only the absolute time of i-th event (absolute time of i-th events can be stored simply on a magnetic carrier of a video tape recorder by which these events are recorded) and data of a timer in an individual memory device, according to which data the recording time T(i) is computed after said time has been reported to a system data collection center. That is, both in the course of an event and after the same has ended, any computation operations involving measurement of a relative time elapsed after the event has finished can be excluded completely. Further, the computation operations are excluded not only in a central server proper (if any), but in an individual memory device as well. However, a drawback of this system is also a lowering of an accuracy of determining T(i) due to a long instability of quartz resonator parameters and impossibility of application of this system for holding the Bingo-type 2-lotteries.
A common drawback of all known systems that use individual memory devices is inconvenience of formation of hypothetical information therein. This relates, in particular, to methods for formation of a number of variants of data relating to one event or event in such event.
As regards the sports contests (soccer, basketball, hockey, etc.), these may be different variants of penalty kick/throw result, and for lotteries—variants of number combinations to be drawn by lototron. This is, obviously, the reason of a limited use of the known systems designed for holding sport totalisers with the use of individual memory devices.
Absence of any source of true information should be also considered as the common drawbacks of the known systems for holding lotteries, wherein a simple automatic mechanical lototron is used. The reason is the absence of mechanical lototrones operated in an automatic mode and having a simple reliable design. Thus, in the lototron described in application DE 4307800 C1, automatic picking up of balls from the mixing drum requires that said drum be filled, completely or partially, with a liquid and further a special collection chamber or a suction pump be used.
Other drawbacks of the known systems will be considered below. In light of the foregoing, the object of the invention is to eliminate the above-discussed drawbacks.